


charms

by altissimozucca



Series: the hogwarts au no one asked for [1]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Cute Dorks, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Slash, just being cute, they deserve more fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 05:41:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21294470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altissimozucca/pseuds/altissimozucca
Summary: The three Gryffindors were sitting together in the common room later that evening, with Pierre reading some sort of French, muggle book and Carlos and Max playing Exploding Snap. Suddenly, the Frenchman looked from his book at his friends.“Hey, Max?” The fifth-year looked at him. “Why were you staring at Charles earlier?” He looked genuinely confused, though that didn’t stop Max gaping like a fish; Carlos laughed at him, though yelped as a card exploded in his face.“I wasn’t looking at him,” Max spoke, getting over his surprise; Pierre looked disappointed, for some reason, but nodded.“Okay.” He opened his book once again but closed it before the two even started shuffling the cards again, seeking attention of the youngest of the three. “Out of curiosity… how do you feel about Charles?”“I don’t know him enough to judge him.” Max frowned, “Why?”
Relationships: Charles Leclerc/Max Verstappen
Series: the hogwarts au no one asked for [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1535090
Comments: 14
Kudos: 105





	charms

**Author's Note:**

> The Hogwarts AU no one asked for.
> 
> Youngest 10 of the grid are students, others are staff.

**IN THE HILLS** of Scotland, hidden behind various charms, stood a tall, magnificent castle surrounded by fog; its towers seemed to pierce the clouds that rose over the country, the warm lights shining through windows forming an ethereal picture.

Nearby, in the village of Hogsmeade, a crimson red steam engine hooted, opening the doors for hundreds of young witches and wizards to greet the groundskeeper of Hogwarts who waited for them with a bell in his hands.

“First-years, here!” Romain Grosjean yelled out, smiling at the groups of children forming before him.

The older students left towards the carriages, some greeting the Frenchman in passing; even though his magical talents weren’t great, the man was loved by every member of the staff. He led the first years towards the boats at the Black Lake, a lantern in his hands illuminating his face.

In one of the carriages sat a fourth-year Hufflepuff and a fifth-year Gryffindor, talking excitedly about the upcoming quidditch season. Max was chosen as the captain, while Lando hoped to finally get into the team.

Just as thestrals were about to start pulling the carriage, another fifth year joined them, huffing and puffing from catching his breath. Charles Leclerc greeted them, though his eyes were set on the beautiful, skeletal horses pulling the carriages.

“They’re beautiful,” he mumbled out, not seeming to notice the looks the other two shot him. The Ravenclaw straightened up, the prefect badge shining on his chest.

Max desperately tried not to roll his eyes, Lando noticing and poking him in the ribs. The older student punched him in the gut, not enough to hurt but enough to get the younger boy slightly winded. They began talking again.

When Lando began gushing about how Max is the captain of the Gryffindor team again, Charles butted in, “You’re a captain, too?” He didn’t mean for his voice to sound condescending, but it happened, and Max scowled.

“Yeah, he is!” Lando replied before Max could, oblivious to the tension that fell upon them. His eyes widened then, “What do you mean by _too?”_

“I’m the captain for the Ravenclaw team,” he mumbled out. Lando grinned, clapping his hands.

“A prefect and a captain! That’s so cool.”

Max turned away from them as Lando excitedly chatted with Charles, who seemed to loosen up. The Gryffindor tried to not let his sour mood show and focused on the passing landscape surrounding them.

In one of the other carriages, he noticed his younger sister who waved at him; she was with her friends, who began giggling at the sight of the older boy.

Max let out a sigh, putting his face in his hands and ignoring the bumpiness of the road that caused him to hit his face every so often. He couldn’t wait for the ride to end, just so that he doesn’t have to listen to the annoying, accented voice of the Ravenclaw prefect.

After the sorting, Headmaster Hamilton held his speech, introducing Kevin Magnussen as the new Charms professor and reading the rules. When he sat back into his seat, piles of food formed on the tables and students began digging in.

“HH is so cool, right?” one of the first-years asked Max, who nodded absentmindedly, his focus on the schnitzel and the pile of mashed potatoes on his plate; truth be told, he never understood why everyone seemed to adore the Headmaster so much, but he never voiced his opinion aloud, aware of the argument that’d ensue.

Max’s blue eyes wandered around the room, from table to table; he caught Lando’s gaze, the Hufflepuff frowning a little at the blank expression on the Gryffindor’s face. His eyes moved to the Ravenclaw table, smiling at Alex who he got along with.

The Thai boy waved a little, though his attention was taken by one of his younger siblings soon after.

Max’s eyes set on the new Ravenclaw prefect who was staring at his plate, twirling the food around. He looked deep in thought and Max found himself wondering what he was thinking about.

He must’ve been staring for too long because he felt someone nudge his side and he looked at Carlos, the seventh-year beater on their quidditch team. The Spanish-born wizard grinned at Max, stuffing his face with some sort of spicy food that Max could never stomach before speaking.

“What got you so deep in thought, _capitán?”_

Max shook his head, swallowing a spoonful of mashed potatoes. “Nothing,” he spoke at the pointed look Carlos was giving him; the Spaniard wiggled his eyebrows, nudging him again.

“Got your eye on some Ravenclaw?” he teased the younger boy, who groaned and covered his face with his hands. Carlos sang out, “So, you do~”

“I don’t.”

“Which one is it? The cute brunette from London? The sixth-year chaser? Talia? Louise? Monica?” Max shoved him away, grumbling under his breath. Carlos laughed, ruffling the other boy’s hair. “I’m just messing with you.”

“Go mess with Lando or something. Teach him how to play beater, he wants to join the team.”

“I would, but I think Antonio might stab me if I come near them… He’s still angry about the spider thing from last year.” The Spaniard rolled his eyes at the mention of the Hufflepuff seventh-year.

Max shot him an incredulous look, “You transfigured his quill into a tarantula, Carlos. Of course he’s not going to be your biggest fan.”

“You just say that because you’re scared of spiders, Maxie.”

A new voice spoke from beside them, “You’re scared of spiders?” It was Pierre, the sixth-year Gryffindor with a weird, French accent that often unnerved Max, even though he liked Pierre.

“What’s wrong with that? Lando’s scared of them, too!” defended the Dutchman, earning a loud, offended ‘hey’ from the table next to theirs. The hall erupted into laughter from everyone, including some of the professors.

The three Gryffindors were sitting together in the common room later that evening, with Pierre reading some sort of French, muggle book and Carlos and Max playing Exploding Snap. Suddenly, the Frenchman looked from his book at his friends.

“Hey, Max?” The fifth-year looked at him. “Why were you staring at Charles earlier?” He looked genuinely confused, though that didn’t stop Max gaping like a fish; Carlos laughed at him, though yelped as a card exploded in his face.

“I wasn’t looking at him,” Max spoke, getting over his surprise; Pierre looked disappointed, for some reason, but nodded.

“Okay.” He opened his book once again but closed it before the two even started shuffling the cards again, seeking attention of the youngest of the three. “Out of curiosity… how do you feel about Charles?”

“I don’t know him enough to judge him.” Max frowned, “Why?”

“Nothing, nothing.” The Frenchman waved him off, but Max could see him plotting something. “Did you know that we basically grew up together?”

“Why are you asking me all these questions?” the Dutchman snapped, standing up. Pierre was grinning, not bothered by the younger boy’s outburst while Carlos just looked confused. Max cleared his throat, “I’m gonna go find Lando. Later, losers.”

The start of the school year was already hectic; just two weeks in, Max found himself with a long and dreadful Potions assignment. Professor Perez was nice, but he was strict and liked theory more than practice as that meant less mess in his classroom.

Other classes weren’t much better, either; Max found himself only truly enjoying Defence with Kimi, who was an interesting man with loads of stories to tell and Care of Magical Creatures, which he liked because he liked Dan, the young and hilarious professor.

There also seemed to be some history between Professor Magnussen and the Transfiguration professor, Nico Hülkenberg. There was some talk around the school about them always going head-to-head.

But, yeah – the start of the year was full of shit to do and top that off with his quidditch responsibilities…

More often than not, Max was at the library, usually _resting his eyes_ until Seb scolded him and told him to return to the common room if he wanted to sleep; the German wasn’t nice, either – he usually smacked the Gryffindor on the top of his head or hit the arm that was supporting his chin.

As per usual, Max had been in the library for a while, working on his Potions assignment instead of dozing off. An unusual number of students were huddled around, all of them scribbling down on pieces of parchment with their quills.

Max was far too engrossed with his own to be aware of his surroundings; he tried to concentrate as much as he could and do his best, even though he wasn’t known as the best student around. His wrist was hurting from writing, but he was too far in the mode to slow down.

When someone cleared their throats from next to him, Max accidentally made an inkblot on the parchment and swore loudly, earning a silencing from the unusually pissy librarian.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” came the accented voice and Max scowled, looking at Charles who was standing there sheepishly.

There was a beat of silence before Max spoke up, “Did you need something?”

As if broken from some sort of trance, the Ravenclaw began shuffling on his feet. “I – uh… I need your help with something.” He winced at the end of the sentence, as if it hurt to say and Max felt a pinch of pride.

“With what?”

“My Charms assignment,” Charles finally mumbled out, so quiet and incoherent that Max had to ask him to repeat it. “My Charms assignment, okay?” he spoke more clearly, slightly exasperated and Max wanted to laugh, but held himself together.

“Why don’t you ask Alex to help you?” the Gryffindor questioned, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest, “And, aren’t you Ravenclaws supposed to be smart or something?”

Charles frowned. “Aren’t you Gryffindors supposed to be brave? What was that about spiders at the Welcoming Feast?” he retorted.

Max narrowed his eyes at the Ravenclaw prefect, “Do you want me to help you? Because, if you do, you’re not doing a good job convincing me why I should.”

“Alex has a lot of stuff already,” Charles changed the subject. “And Pierre told me to ask you. He says that you’re talented in the subject and wouldn’t mind helping out.”

“I’m talented in a lot of things. Sweet talking isn’t going to get me to help you, Leclerc.”

“I won’t take house points from you if I catch you doing something stupid?” the Ravenclaw offered and Max smirked, offering his hand for Charles to shake.

“You got yourself a deal.”

A few days later, Charles approached Max in the courtyard. The Gryffindor was sitting on the ground, back pressed against a wall and a kitten in his lap, biting and scratching at his hand.

The Ravenclaw had to do a double take at the sight because Max looked so unlike his usually overly proud self, playing with the tiny, fluffy, white kitten.

When the Dutchman noticed him, he quirked his eyebrow and nodded in greeting; Charles sat down next to him, petting the kitten’s head and getting bitten in return. “I didn’t know you had a cat,” he commented.

“It’s my sister’s. Her name is Niki.” Max smiled as she nibbled on his finger, “Victoria left her with me while she’s at the Hufflepuff try-outs. She’s hoping to make the team this year.”

“When do you have yours?” Charles questioned, earning a shrug from Max. Niki was climbing all over him, finding a place on the top of his head.

“Next week sometime… I still need to decide the exact day.” The Gryffindor cracked his knuckles, prying the kitten from its spot and yelping when she dug her claws into his hand. Charles laughed at him, earning a shove to the side.

“We’re holding them this Saturday,” the Ravenclaw commented, absentmindedly rubbing at the badge on his robes. “Did you know that we’re the youngest captains in a while?”

“Carlos said so,” Max replied, “He was offered the position first, but he declined… it’s too much responsibility for him.” The Gryffindor laughed, shaking his head at the thought of his friend.

“You said that your sister is trying out for Hufflepuff? Lando, too?” Max nodded in response and Charles cracked a smile, “Hufflepuff might be strong this year, then.”

“Slytherin, too, with Daniil as the captain. Lance is a good seeker.”

Charles was silent for a moment before he let out a gasp, hitting himself across the forehead. Max watched him in bemusement, listening to the other wizard muttering out swears in French.

“I almost forgot what I wanted to ask you,” the Ravenclaw groaned out. “Are you free this Thursday, around four? Great! Would you mind helping me with Charms then?”

“I did say I will, didn’t I?”

The duo found themselves in an empty classroom the following Thursday, where Max could teach Charles Charms without breaking something; he was sure that Sebastian would’ve knocked them out with a jinx had they messed up some of the books in the library.

Charles understood the basics and could do well at them, but anything past third year was a no-go for the Ravenclaw; Max found it funny how the prefect seemed to bite back at every piece of constructive criticism he gave him. Charles obviously didn’t like not being able to do something and it showed.

“You’re doing it wrong, mate,” Max commented as Charles began chanting an incantation for the umpteenth time, waving his wrist completely wrong. “More upwards, less to the left. Imagine you’re trying to stick your wand up someone’s nostril.”

The Ravenclaw looked at him funnily, spluttering over his words, “Why would I be doing that?”

“Who knows? Maybe you find yourself in such a situation sometimes.” The Gryffindor shrugged.

Charles sighed, rubbing a hand over his face before doing what Max instructed, properly this time. Max clapped, looking pleased with himself, “I’m a darn good teacher.”

Charles snorted, “It’s the student.”

Max rolled his eyes, motioning for the Ravenclaw to go again. “I still don’t understand how you’re so bad at Charms. It’s one of the easiest subjects.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve always been better at the trivial stuff, like History of Magic.” Charles shrugged at the face Max made. “Kubica makes it fun.”

“Wouldn’t know, I spend that class catching up on sleep.”

That earned him an eyeroll from the Ravenclaw, followed by the sound of the knockback jinx and the two boys laughing.

That was the beginning of a friendship that came out of the blue to everyone; even Pierre, who has been planning for that to happen was surprised at the progress he had made. The Frenchman’s plans were deeper than mere friendship, though, as he wasn’t oblivious to the attractions that the Ravenclaw harboured for the Gryffindor, even though nothing was ever spoken.

The sixth-year sat at breakfast at the Gryffindor table, eating a batch of pancakes and speaking to Cate – his girlfriend – while looking at the two boys at the Ravenclaw table eating together. For the past few weeks, Max had been hanging around the blue and bronze table much more often, talking to the prefect and sometimes Alex, too.

Max was talking to Charles about the upcoming Gryffindor versus Slytherin quidditch match excitedly, stating that he’s certain it’s a win for the red and gold house. The Ravenclaw shook his head, a coy smile on his face, “I don’t know~”

“Hey!” Max protested, “We’ve got the best team in the school. We would truly be unbeatable if Pierre played, but he doesn’t want to.” The Dutchman rolled his eyes.

“He doesn’t like performing in front of a crowd,” Charles replied, taking a bite out of the apple he held in his hand. Chewing softly, he added, “He’s not scared, but feels bad when he underperforms.”

Max nodded, not truly holding the fact that he doesn’t want to join the team against the sixth-year; he had his reasoning and Max wasn’t going to be angry at his friend.

They fell into a comfortable silence, with Max sipping on his pumpkin juice and Charles biting the apple; the Gryffindor tried not to notice how the Ravenclaw’s lips seemed fuller every time they met with the fruit and instead focused on a spot between Charles’ eyebrows.

“How are your Charms going?” Max began making some small talk, meeting Charles’ eyes, who smiled.

“Really good, actually. You’re a good teacher.”

Max shrugged in a _I told you so_ way, causing the other to laugh. “Magnussen not giving you any more trouble?”

The Ravenclaw shook his head. “No, no. Charms is good, but now Hülkenberg got crazy and gave us a long-ass assignment.”

“I know, we have Transfiguration together.” Charles rolled his eyes. “I also got a DADA assignment because I was late for Kimi’s class… a three feet long essay on the uses of the _Patronus_ charm.”

“That’s what you get for being late,” the Ravenclaw mused, finishing his apple and putting it on the table. Max scowled slightly, kicking Charles’ feet from under the table. “Hey!” he shouted and kicked Max back, the two of them continuing to do so until a new voice spoke behind Max.

“Are you two playing footsies?”

Both boys blushed at the question, Charles looking away embarrassedly while Max elbowed Lando in the ribs and greeted George, a Hufflepuff in the same year as him and Charles. The younger Brit laughed, sitting on Max’s right side while the older took his left.

Soon enough, George got pulled into a conversation with Alex, who sat next to him while Lando whistled, looking from Max to Charles with a growing grin. “Maxie, Vic told me to tell you that your mum told her that you’ll be meeting with her in Hogsmeade next Saturday,” he informed the Gryffindor.

“Since when do you hang out with Vic?” Max questioned Lando with a jokingly stern voice. Lando shrugged, a smug smile on his face causing Max to elbow him once again.

“Since when do you hang out with Charles?” the Brit retorted, pointing at the Monègasque across from them who looked confused at getting pulled into the conversation.

Max rolled his eyes, “Me and Charles have same interests.”

“So do Vic and I. We’re both on the quidditch team this year… I get along with Niki… and so on.”

Ever since then, Max began looking at Charles in a slightly different light; often would the Gryffindor find himself thinking about how _delicious_ Charles’ lips looked eating that apple and how cute he looked whenever he smiled.

He didn’t know how to feel about that, so he pushed the thoughts at the back of his head and focused on more important things, like the upcoming quidditch match.

The first match of the year – Gryffindor versus Slytherin – ended with Gryffindor obliterating the green house and Daniil refusing to talk to Carlos since the Spaniard bludgeoned his keeper friend more than once.

Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff, too, to Lando’s dismay; he refused to talk about the match, choosing literally any other topic other than that. Victoria’s mood was damp, too, and Max found himself consoling his sister at the Hogsmeade meeting with their mother.

The third match of the year was Ravenclaw versus Slytherin, just before the winter break. Charles was nervous, that much could be seen; even Lando, who was still sour about the Hufflepuff loss seemed to speak words of encouragement to the new captain.

Max was sitting in the courtyard with Charles, wrapped in a jacket but cold nonetheless; Charles, unlike his Gryffindor friend, had bundled up properly, wearing not only a jacket but his Ravenclaw scarf and a dark blue beanie, too.

They were sharing a mug of hot chocolate which rightfully belonged to the Ravenclaw but was mostly in the Gryffindor’s hold. Their knees were touching and Max was painfully aware of that fact; Charles had been speaking about the upcoming match, his nerves showing and his knee bouncing up and down.

Max placed the warm mug on the floor next to them, grabbing the Ravenclaw’s knees and looking at him pointedly. “You’re gonna do great, Charles. Don’t worry.” He smiled encouragingly, receiving a forced smile in return.

“But Slytherin is strong this year, with Dany as the captain and Lance’s father gifting the team new brooms and everything. All of them are good players and I fear that they’re better than us,” Charles groaned out, putting his head in his hands.

Max rolled his eyes, wrapping an arm around the Ravenclaw’s shoulders; he knew that Charles’ fear was pointless, but it was hard to explain that to him. Max never was good at encouragement, after all.

He pulled the beanie from Charles’ head, chuckling at the mess that his hair was and ruffling it a bit. Charles whined, trying to take the hat back, but failing as Max put it out of his reach.

“What are you doing?” asked the Ravenclaw.

Max grinned, “I’m going to be cheering on you at the match, Charlie.” The other boy grimaced at the nickname and stopped trying to take the piece of clothing back, looking at the Dutchman instead.

“Take the scarf, then,” he retaliated, “And give me the hat back. My ears are cold,” he added, mumbling. Max rolled his eyes teasingly, putting the beanie back over Charles’ head and over his eyes.

The other groaned, fixing it before unwrapping the scarf tied around his neck and wrapping it over Max’s Gryffindor one. He fixed the clothing up, cold fingers rubbing over the skin on Max’s neck causing him to shiver.

Charles let go as if he were burnt, awkwardly avoiding the blue gaze. “Better,” he muttered, reaching over Max to get his hot chocolate and sipping it.

Max smiled, nudging Charles’ shoulder with his before standing up. “I need to go, I promised Carlos I’d play Snap with him.” He tightened the scarf around his neck, tapping the top of Charles’ head with his hand. “See you later, Charlie.”

True to his words, Max was cheering on for Charles at the game. It ended with Ravenclaw beating Slytherin, but the captain of the Ravenclaw team lost the balance on his broom after catching the snitch which landed him in the Hospital Wing.

He was laying on one of the beds, drinking medicine that Madame Williams left for him, when Max walked in. The Gryffindor was grinning as he sat next to his friend, ruffling his hair a bit.

“I told you you’d win.” His voice was smug as he said it, making Charles roll his eyes and sigh. “You were great, Charlie. I knew you could do it.”

“Thanks,” the Ravenclaw captain mumbled, stretching his back and wincing in pain. “I shouldn’t have lost my balance, though. I think a bludger brushed against my broomstick and I couldn’t catch the grip again.”

“Yeah, well, you won and you’re not seriously hurt and that’s all that matters.”

It was then that Charles noticed the familiar piece of blue and bronze clothing wrapped around Max’s shoulders, causing him to smile widely, “Hey, you wore it!”

Max looked confused for a moment before realization hit him. “I said I would, didn’t I?”

He unwrapped the article from his neck and moved towards Charles, placing it around the Ravenclaw; he was still for a moment, contemplating what to do before placing a soft kiss on the prefect’s forehead, blushing.

Deciding to test his luck, Max moved his lips to the tip of Charles’ nose, receiving a nudge in return; the Ravenclaw was smiling lightly and Max couldn’t resist pressing his lips against his in a short, soft, innocent kiss that had them both wanting to do it again.

He left soon after, leaving Charles to rest, but the happy and content smile that formed on the Ravenclaw’s face after the gesture remained drilled in the Gryffindor’s mind.

**Author's Note:**

> [find me on tumblr](https://bakuturnnine.tumblr.com/)


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